a. Speech, discourse; esp. the familiar oral intercourse of two or more persons; conversation (of a familiar kind).

b. With a and plural. An instance of this; a conversation.

c. An informal lecture or address; spec. = radio talk n. at radio n. Compounds 3.

d. plural. Applied attributively to a department of the B.B.C. concerned with the production of radio talks; also to its officials, programmes, etc., and elliptical, the Talks department (with initial capital as a title).

a. A more or less formal or public oral interchange of views, opinions, or propositions; a conference. Also spec. in plural: formal discussions, as between representatives of different countries, or between both sides in an industrial dispute; talks about talks: preliminary discussions held before entering into formal negotiations.

b. A palaver, a pow-wow, as with American Indians; also a verbal message to or from such people.

a. Utterance of words, speaking (to others), speech; = talking n.; also, contemptuously, empty words, verbiage. tall talk, speaking in a boastful or exaggerated style; see also big talk n. at big adj. and adv. Compounds 2, small talk n.

b. Applied to writing of the nature of familiar or loose speech.

c. figurative.

a. To convey or exchange ideas, thoughts, information, etc. by means of speech, especially the familiar speech of ordinary intercourse; ‘to speak in conversation’ (Johnson); to converse. talk about…, often used colloquially to contrast something already mentioned with something still more striking; don't talk to me about (something), an exclamation against some new topic of conversation of which one has bitter personal experience.

b. By extension: To convey information in some other way, as by writing, with the fingers, eyes, etc.

c. Of a ship, etc.: to communicate by radio.

a. talk of: to speak of, about, or in reference to (anything); also, = talk about at sense 1a in colloquial use, sense 1a; often in indirect passive, to be talked of. to talk of (doing something), to speak somewhat vaguely, so as to suggest a notion, or express one's probable intention, of doing it. talking of.., apropos of..; also jocular introducing an unconnected subject.

a. To exercise the faculty of speech; to speak, utter words, say things; often contemptuous: to speak trivially, utter empty words, prate. to talk to, to address words to; colloquial, to rebuke, scold, reprimand; (U.S.) dialect, to court or woo (a woman); also to talk up to. Of a woman: to accept a man's attentions. to talk at random n., adv., and adj., at rovers (rarely rover) at rover n.² Phrases: see these words.

b. To say something as a rumour or matter of gossip; hence, to indulge in idle or censorious gossip. (Formerly also transitive with object clause.)

c. to talk big, tall, etc. (colloquial or slang): to talk boastfully; to indulge in inflated language; see also big adv. 3. to talk down (to an audience), to lower one's discourse to the assumed level of their intelligence; also transferred (in quots., of writers). to talk through one's hat: see hat n. Phrases 17; to talk through (the back of) one's neck: see neck n.¹ Phrases 13; to talk turkey: see turkey n.² 2d.

e. To say something to the purpose, esp. in colloquial phrase now you're talking. Also figurative of money: see money talks at money n. Phrases 3j.

f. In various colloquial phrases stating or implying that someone is in no position to criticize another, exemplified by the types: you can't talk!; (look, hark) who's talking!; who am I to talk?; I should talk!

g. to talk back: to answer back; to indulge in ‘back-chat’. North American colloquial.

h. With alcoholic drink as subject: used to excuse or explain uncharacteristic sentiments supposedly brought on by the drink consumed. Chiefly in present participle. colloquial.

i. To disclose information, spec. to the police (or another authority), esp. incriminating oneself or others; to confess; to turn informer or ‘squeal’. slang.

j. With adverbial accusative. to talk one's way in: to gain admission by persuasion. Similarly with out.

a. To utter or speak in familiar language (words, a tale, etc.); to express in talk or speech (matter, opinions, etc.). †Also with object clause.: see 3b to talk out, to utter freely, give full utterance to.

b. To use as a spoken language, to speak conversationally: as to talk French, German, Somerset, slang. So to talk sailor (= to use nautical language), etc. to talk Greek, Hebrew, Double-Dutch, gibberish, etc., to use language unintelligible to the hearer. to talk baby, to talk as to a child, use baby-talk.

a. To discourse about, speak of, discuss. Now colloquial. Cf. to talk shop at shop n., adj., and int. Phrases 12.

b. to talk a good game: to discuss a topic convincingly (with implication that no action is taken). Also, to talk a great ball game. U.S. colloquial.

a. With adv. or prep.: To influence, move, or affect by talking; as to talk down, (a) to put down by talking; to out-talk; (b) to reduce or diminish by talking; to denigrate or belittle; (c) Economics to depress the value of (a currency) or the price of (a commodity) by making tactical public statements; similarly, to talk lower; (d) see sense 9d. to talk (a person) into or out of, to persuade into, or dissuade from (something) by talking; to talk out, to talk to the end of; to carry on the discussion of (a bill in Parliament, etc.) till the time for adjournment is reached, and so frustrate its progress by preventing its being put to a vote; to talk (a person) over or round, to win over, or into compliance, by talking; to talk (a person) through (something), to provide with a commentary on (some event); to take through with helpful explanation; to talk (a thing) up, (a) to talk strenuously in support of, to ‘crack up’; (b) to discuss favourably; to stimulate interest in by talking, esp. exaggeratedly; to praise or advocate (chiefly U.S.); to extract from (a person) by persuasion. to talk (a person) up to, to bring (him) up to the point or level of (something) by talking.

b. To spend or pass away (time, and the like) in or by talking.

c. to talk (a thing) over, to talk over (a matter): to discuss it in familiar conference or conversation.

d. to talk down: to provide (an aircraft) with directions by radio communication which enable it to land, esp. in overcast or emergency conditions. Also with in: chiefly applied to ships seeking landfall. Hence with the pilot or navigating officer as subj. Occasionally with other adverbs and prepositions.